Stronger than ever
by quickquotesqueen
Summary: Hermione returns from repeating her final year at Hogwarts. Ron is determined to make their relationship work. Kinda fluffy. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1 Kings Cross

Ron could hear the train coming now. He smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to see his beautiful girlfriend again. He had taken to counting the days off on a chart in his office at work. The train ground to a halt, and Ron could see all the smiling students, pushing their ways through to be the first off the train and see their much-missed parents.

Ron waited a few minutes, and then saw the sight he had been waiting for since January, when Hermione had returned back to Hogwarts. He could see her beautiful thicket of hair bobbing along above the crowd. Ron jumped up and down, trying to catch her attention. She caught sight of him. All of a sudden, she broke into a run and launched herself at Ron. Her eyes were brimming with tears.  
"I've missed you so much," she sobbed.  
"Me too," he smiled back.

Just then, a shock of red hair turned up at their side.  
"Where's Harry?" she demanded. Ron and Hermione broke apart.  
"On a raid" Ron replied, "he'll be back tomorrow morning,"

They left the station, Ginny left her cases with them, turned the corner, and apparated.  
"So that's what she learnt this term, then?" Ron sighed.  
They waited a few minutes, then a car arrived for them. It was black, and the hood ornament was an ornate 'M'.  
"You hired a Ministry car?" Hermione asked, smiling.  
"The driver owes me and dad, anyway," Ron replied. The boot sprang open, and Ron put in the trunk. Both getting into the back, Ron asks:  
"Alright, Murdoch?"  
"Yeah, not so bad. This your girlfriend? You're right, she _is _pretty." Hermione smiled.  
"What have you been saying about me?" She asked incredulously, eyebrows raised. He could tell, however, that she was flattered. Ron wanted to ask many things about the school year, but he could tell she wasn't ready yet. She had fallen asleep on Ron's shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2 Back to The Burrow

**Chapter 2**

It was pitch black when the car finally rolled into The Burrow's drive.  
"Cheers, Murdoch," Ron said.  
"No problems, Mr Weasley" Murdoch replied. Now Ron had a dangerous task ahead of him. As Ginny liked to call it, Ron had to 'awake the beast'. Hermione was prone to violent acts and other peculiar things if woken up suddenly. She'd once given Ron a bloody nose from a myoclonic twitch. He blew her face.  
"Hermione," he whispered, "we're home. You can go up to bed now," There was some grunting, and she hit out, as he had expected.  
"Jesus Christ Hermione! That was my bloody chest!" She sat upright, and got out of the car as if nothing had happened.

Ron unlocked the door, opened it up, and brought the cases in. Hermione did not follow him. He turned around to notice she was staring blankly at him.  
"Coming in?" he asked.  
"Y-yes oh, okay," she replied. She seemed very stewed. Ron, with difficulty, picked her up and brought her inside.  
"Blimey Big Brother, carrying her over the threshold so soon?" Ginny asked. She was accompanied by Harry, who had a nice new slash across his left cheek.  
"I didn't think you were going to be back until morning?" Ron said.  
"They had things pretty well covered over there, so I decided to come back to make up for lost time with my girl," Ginny kissed him on the cheek. "How are you, then Hermione?"  
She gave him a weak smile and hug. "O-okay I think," She replied, stifling a yawn.

As the four of them went upstairs, they could hear Mr Weasley snoring. That was good. It meant they could have their preferred sleeping arrangements. At the first floor, the couples exchanged good nights, and Harry and Ginny went off down the landing. Ron and Hermione continued upstairs.

Ron's room hadn't changed much since Hermione had left in September, except for a picture on Ron's bedside table. It was the picture of them at Christmas, sharing the book Ron had given her. They were laughing. Hermione loved that book. It was of the few they could both share – there was humour, for Ron, and perfect detail in the writing, for her. Neither of them bothered getting undressed. They fell asleep, together, on top of the covers.


	3. Chapter 3 The talks

**Chapter 3**

Hermione woke up. She watched Ron, who was still asleep. He looked so blissful. She couldn't believe this peaceful man could be the reason she was so homesick at school, one of her favourite places in the world. Well, second to The Burrow, of course. She could smell Mrs Weasley's cooking already. She thought she might have one sausage, a piece of bacon, some beans and a slice of toast – no wait – two slices of toast. She was practically salivating. There was some grunting.

"Hermione, are you watching me sleep?" Ron asked dozily, with his eyes still closed. She knew he hated that, but couldn't help herself.  
"Might be," she replied. He half-opened his eyes.  
"I almost forgot how beautiful you are," he said, then pointed to the photograph on his nightstand, "but then Bill gave me this picture he took."  
They lay in bed for a little while longer, staring dreamily at each other, before deciding to get up.

The inviting smell of breakfast practically carried them down the stairs; the same for George, who was currently staying at The Burrow.  
"Nice to have you back, Hermione," George remarked, "at least I don't have to hear Ron groaning your name at night anymore," Ron's ears went that delightful shade of scarlet, and he mumbled something inaudibly.

Breakfast, as Hermione had fantasised, was an absolute dream; everyone had second helpings – Ron even had a third! After their stomachs were fit to bursting, they discussed their plans for the day. Harry and Ginny were going to visit Teddy and Andromeda; Molly had to run some errands in London; George had to take stock at the joke shop. That meant Ron and Hermione could have the house to themselves. Hermione smiled at Ron.

"Hold on a sec, Ginny, I'll just grab my cloak and trainers," Harry said, racing upstairs.  
"I-I'll go and help you find them," Ron called after, following him.  
When they reached Ginny's room, Ron closed the door behind them.  
"What are you doing, mate?" Harry asked.  
"I c-can't do it," Ron replied.  
"What do you mean?" Harry looked puzzled.  
"We haven't done – you know – _it_ before," Ron mumbled, "I don't know if I'll do it right!" Ron's ears turned the strongest shade of scarlet Harry had ever seen. Harry himself didn't seem very comfortable. Suddenly, he got very occupied in tying his shoes.  
"Well, er, um..." Harry stammered, "... you, uh, have protection, right?" Ron nodded. "And, um, Hermione knows The Charm?"  
"I-I think so," Ron responded.  
"Well, once we're gone, just talk to her;" Harry concluded. Ron thanked him, and they went downstairs.

Meanwhile, Ginny and Hermione were talking amongst themselves downstairs.  
"Do you think you'll get up to, uh, any _stuff_ today?" Ginny teased.  
"Oh, I don't know," Hermione replied, "I think Ron's interested, but I wouldn't know what to do with myself,"  
"It's easy enough to go with the flow," Ginny explained, "just follow what the boy does, and you'll be okay. Just don't forget The Charm."  
"Thanks," Hermione said, turning to leave. "Wait a second, you couldn't mention Ron's name in that conversation, could you?"  
"Definitely not," Ginny grimaced. "See you later!


	4. Chapter 4 Ron and Hermione's first time

So they were alone. Hermione and Ron sat opposite each other at the kitchen table dumbly for what felt like an age.

Ron's head, however, couldn't be more of the opposite.

-_Offer her a game of chess, _a voice suggested.

-_No, no – the new polish you just bought for your broom would be much more interesting to show her!_

Ron grinned at Hermione stupidly.

"Want to... go to the orchard?" she asked.

"God, yes!" Ron answered, relieved.

"We could take a picnic!" Hermione suggested, digging through the cupboard for a hamper. Ron grabbed his broom and a blanket.

The scene was beautiful in the orchard that morning: beautiful weather, beautiful food, beautiful boyfriend. In Hermione's opinion, anyway. Ron had just shown Hermione his best moves on his broom.

"Wow, Ron! You're really good!" Hermione applauded.

"Well there's no reason to be so surprised," Ron joked. "Thanks. Been working on those since March." He poured them both some of Mrs Weasley's homemade cider.

They led down on the blanket. Ron noted that Hermione's face was extremely close to his. She kissed him: he kissed her back. There were hands on his belt buckle.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked.

"Definitely," Ron said, grinning.

Harry and Ginny had returned home. They could see the entwined silhouette of Ron and Hermione up in the orchard from the drive.

"Looks like they've got things sorted out now," Ginny said smiling, "that talk with Hermione seems to have done some good,"

"That's funny, I had to talk to Ron, too," Harry said.

"Meddler!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Right back at you," Harry laughed. They went back inside.


	5. Chapter 5 Room for Improvement

At breakfast the next day, the rest of the family had already gone to work, leaving Ginny and Hermione alone to discuss the previous day's shenanigans. Today was the one day a week Harry and Ron were helping George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"So how was your little date yesterday?" asked Ginny.

"It was okay," Hermione answered.

"Only okay?" Ginny replied. "You two were out there all day! You didn't come back in until late in the evening."

Hermione sighed. She supposed she had to explain to Ginny _exactly _what had happened.

"Well, the first time - _yes the first time - _" Hermione noticed Ginny's raised eyebrows, "was over quickly a bit quickly. Or rather, a bit _too_ quickly, if you know what I mean. Then, this really strange thing happened. Ron became... obsessed. He just kept wanting us to try again and again until we got better."

"Not that talking about you having sex with my dear brother isn't uncomfortable or anything, but maybe with that being your first time it wasn't supposed to be brilliant. Practice makes perfect." Ginny picked up a piece of homemade brioche and started to spread chocolate spread onto the slice.

"Was that true with you and Harry?" Hermione asked. Ginny suddenly became very red, and most interested in the jar of chocolate spread. Hermione suspected she'd said too much. She was aware that although Ginny was more than happy to give out relationship advice, talking about her own relationship, however, was something she really didn't like.

"W-well, I-I s'pose..." Ginny mumbled.

At the joke shop, Harry, Ron and George were taking inventory in the office before the shop opened.

"So how did it go yesterday with Hermione?" George asked.

"Oh, well it was alright I s'pose," Ron replied embarrassedly, his ears becoming a deep shade of scarlet.

"First time not quite as expected, eh?" George said. "Don't worry, little bro, it's happened to us all."

"So what moves did you use?" asked Harry. He was avoiding looking at Ron. He wasn't sure how he felt about this topic of discussion.

"Um, none, really," Ron replied. "Look, can't we just leave this now? I'd rather talk about something else please."

So for the rest of the day they left the subject alone. Only trouble was, they didn't talk about anything else. They only spoke when they needed more stock from the storeroom, or if they were offering cups of tea. At seven o'clock in the evening, they were all relieved to see that it was time to go home.

Back at the Burrow, Mrs Weasley was well under way with the tea, whilst Ginny and Hermione were playing with Crookshanks in the dining room and Mr Weasley was reading his book in the lounge.

"Good day, boys?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"S'alright" they all mumbled together. Ginny got up and kissed Harry and Hermione did the same to Ron.

"Just stopping by to say hi, mum," George said. "Going out with Angelina tonight."

"Okay dear, I'll see you soon. Have fun. Be safe." She replied. She fed him some pasta from a wooden spoon before he left.

"Hermione, can we go upstairs for a chat?" Ron said.

"Yes of course," Hermione replied. She had to admit; she was a little nervous. What on earth could he want to talk to her about?

They went up to Ron's room. Despite both Ginny and Ron were in committed relationships, Mrs Weasley still insisted on Ron sharing with Harry and Ginny sharing with Hermione. Ron and Hermione sat on the bed.

"I hope you still like me, even after yesterday," Ron mumbled. Hermione laughed.

"Don't be thick, of course I do!" She laughed. "Ginny reckons we shouldn't just base this off a one-time experience."

"But it wasn't just _one-time_," Ron groaned.

"Maybe we should just get more practice" Hermione teased. Ron, unsurprisingly, agreed.

"After tea?" Ron suggested.

"After tea," agreed Hermione.

They went back downstairs. Suddenly the air between them all became much clearer. They enjoyed Mrs Weasley's spectacular spaghetti bolognese whilst they all got in a heated debate about whether or not Elspeth Treweeks, a work experience girl from Harry's department was seeing Benny McAlpine, a work experience boy from Mr Weasley's department. After they finished up a heavenly banoffee pie, Ron and Hermione excused themselves from the table, and Hermione led Ron upstairs by the hand.


	6. Chapter 6 Dinner with a Surprise

A week later, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were going out on a double date to a nice-looking new restaurant that had recently opened in Diagon Alley. The girls had spent quite a while getting dressed, however Harry and Ron had only just come back from a raid with the ministry, as junior aurors.

"Aren't you two getting changed?" Hermione asked, kissing Ron on his dirty cheek.

"Oh, um... we thought we'd just go out like this," Ron said. His and Harry's robes said otherwise: there was still mud dripping off a torn part of Harry's sleeve, and a curious green paste smeared over Ron's left buttock. At that point, Molly came down stairs with a basket of washing.

"Oh dear Lord, boys! Where have you been? For goodness sake, don't sit down. Strip off down here and get dressed upstairs." The girls giggled.

"H-here?" Ron said. Slowly, Harry and Ron removed their cloaks, their shirts and their trousers until they were right down to their pants. They rushed upstairs to get in to some clean robes.

Upstairs, Ron quickly shut the door behind them. Back to back, they started getting changed.

"What do you think they'll say?" asked Ron.

"Dunno. S'pose they'll be pleased. It will be nice to live together; fun." Harry said.

Earlier that day, whilst out on their first raid without a senior auror, Harry and Ron had to stake out a house in Hampstead, in London. The house was beautiful: based on three floors, there was a terrace on the roof, and even enough room out the back for a small patio in the garden. The kitchen was a little small, but the rest of the house was just the right size for the four of them.

"Ready to go?" Ginny called up the stairs.

"Yep!" they both called back. Outside the Burrow, they all apparated to Diagon Alley.

It was a beautiful summer's evening; people in Diagon Alley were leisurely wandering down the street, window shopping. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny walked down the cobbled street together towards La Fenice di Fuoco, the new Italian restaurant. The exterior of the restaurant looked like the rest of the ancient buildings along Diagon Alley, yet the inside looked completely different.

It looked like a sort-of Mediterranean-style restaurant where the building is cut into a cave: the walls were a rock painted bleach-white with various paintings and photographs of Italian coastlines hung on the walls. The tables were made out of a very thick, heavy wood. It was certainly very busy.

"Name?" Said a spiky, dark-haired waitress.

"Weasley," said Ron. The waitress flicked her wand, sending four menus over to a table in the back corner.

"It all looks delicious!" Ginny said, poring over the menu. "I've been looking forward to this all day,"

Ron chose a cheese and ham calzone, Hermione had fusilli pasta with chicken and bacon, Ginny had spaghetti with prawns and Harry had a ham and mushroom pizza. Everyone was very quiet during dinner. Ron whispered to Harry.

"Now, mate?" He asked.

"Well, we might as well," Harry replied.

"You boys are very quiet," Ginny observed.

"Yeah, um," Harry started, "there's something we wanted to discuss with you two,"

"Oh?" Hermione said, not sure how to react.

"On our raid today, we staked out this house in Hampstead," Harry started to explain, "inside was this group of Neo-Death Eaters."

"W-well, we eventually flushed them out," Ron continued, "and then we had to check the place to bring back evidence."

"And this concerns us because...?" Ginny asked, continuing to dig in to her food.

"Well, when inspecting the house, we noticed how nice it would be to live there," Harry said. "After the two weeks cooling off period for all Auror-raided sites, we can move in,"

"So, um, what do you think?" Ron asked. Hermione and Ginny were silent for a while.

"So, you're asking us if we'd like to move in together. All four of us?" Ginny asked.

"If you would like to," Harry said

"I would love to live with you, Ron!" Hermione said, holding his hand.

"I would love to live with you, Harry," Ginny said. "Mum's going to kill me, though."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Harry smiled.

They finished their food, paid the bill, and apparated back to the Burrow.

Once home, they all noticed everyone was asleep. After bidding each other good night, Hermione went up to Ron's room, Harry to Ginny's.

Up in Ron's room, Ron and Hermione started getting undressed.

"How do you feel about moving in as the four of us?" Hermione asked Ron.

"It's going to be weird, being in such close quarters and knowing that my sister will be sharing a bed every night with my best mate, but I'll have to get used to it, I s'pose,"

"Yeah," Hermione replied, clambering in to Ron's bed. Ron jumped in next to her, and they both led down. Hermione got up very close to Ron, wrapping her leg around Ron's. He smiled.

"What are you thinking?" Ron asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Hermione teased, pulling off Ron's pyjama bottoms. Ron grinned, pulling off Hermione's pyjama top.


End file.
